Faces and Places

Major P. May
George H. McKinney
From release
Even before the June 1 official start of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Tropical Storm Alberto reminded us recently that now is the time to get ready for hurricane season.

There’s crooks and then there’s the worst kind of crooks. Back in 1943, the war was going full blast and us folks back here on the home front had to do our best to keep our fighting men and women with plenty of stuff to throw at the enemy.
Now up in Washington, Mr.Roosevelt figured out that Americans had bunches of old scrap materials which could be made into bullets, tanks, ships and airplanes.

Michele Roberts
For The Lancaster News
A good piece of advice is to never let your past dictate your future, and Lancaster native Patience Montgomery is coming to town in August with a message of hope for anyone stuck in a rut due to past mistakes.
Montgomery, an evangelist who founded the Flippin’ the Script women’s conference based in Houston, Texas, said this will be the fifth anniversary of the conference and she is excited to present her message to those who are feeling pressed down because of past choices that didn’t work out.

Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce
The second edition of the Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce’s newest event, Speed Networking, is set for 8 a.m. Tuesday, June 5, at Zaxby’s Restaurant, 1210 S.C. 9 Bypass, Lancaster. Speed Networking is a fast-paced meeting format designed to accelerate business contacts to exchange information in a series of brief exchanges. Attendees share their professional backgrounds and business goals, seeking exposure to new markets and/or to expand their pool of vendors.

Charles C. Moore
Special to The Lancaster News
Enrollment from when the University of South Carolina Lancaster began classes in fall of 1959 through this semester has grown from 51 to 1900.
Community leaders, professors, deans, students and their families, have had a hand in this ongoing higher education success story, including many behind the scenes.
One member of this joint effort was Barbara Croxton Watkins. Watkins was a fixture in the admissions office from 1970 until her retirement in 1995.

My mother was very sick during most of my childhood. She had colon cancer. My first experience with EMS was when I was very young and EMS had to come to our home and take my mom to Columbia because she was so ill. I remember watching the medics and thinking how smart they were and how wonderfully they cared for her. At that time I knew I wanted to be a medic.

My start in EMS began when I joined the Unity Volunteer Fire Department. My chief was Dennis Robinson. Dennis was so cool during the most devastating disasters. He never got excited. He was not only a fire chief, but a hazardous material specialist, rescue-certified in many fields and an EMT basic. When I completed my fire training, I wanted to be like Chief Robinson and learn everything I could about fire and EMS.

I was working on tugboats on the Intracoastal Waterway when we heard a call over the radio from the boat in front of us.
“Tug Royal engineer, my husband has fallen behind the wheel and is unconscious. I don’t know what to do.”
We pulled over to the boat and performed CPR on the man until the Coast Guard and Marine Corps helicopter arrived.

There is a 1-year-old child choking; what would you do to help? There is a 34-year-old man who collapses while walking; would you know what to do? These types of events can happen to anyone at any time. Do you know how to handle a situation of that kind?
I am a 26-year-old Hispanic man who loves to help anyone, no matter where they are from or who they are. When someone is in need of help, I want to be the one who can make a difference or even save his or her life.